I reached for her, her delicate touch stirring my blood. “You make a powerful case, My Lady,” I replied huskily as I leaned down to kiss her neck.
                          
An hour later, as we lay basking in the afterglow, I gave my wholehearted assent to her suggestion.
                          
**************
                          
I stepped out of the tent and stretched as I looked around. Avani had scouted out a marvelous bit of geography, to be sure. Our campsite was near the shore of a large, deep blue lake surrounded by stands of towering ancient evergreen trees and meadows of lush green grass. The southwestern mountain range rose tall and smoky blue in the distance. A few fluffy white clouds were reflected on the lake’s surface, and the brilliant sun was just beginning to peek above the trees to the east.
                          
She had made a charming and cozy tent of large, colorful quilts hung over a heavy rope stretched between two trees. The quilts were anchored to the ground with guy lines and clamped to the rope with sturdy wooden pins to keep them from shifting around. She’d spread some heavy canvas on the ground as a barrier against the dew, then over that she’d spread a pile of old woven rugs. In the center of the tent, she placed a large feather bed she’d unearthed in some half-forgotten storeroom in the castle. Cushions and more quilts for bed covers completed our sleeping arrangement.
                          
I looked back at Avani’s sleeping form and smiled. After the wolves had awakened us, trying to crawl into bed with us for some reason, we lay awake for a while, talking over our wedding—and our wedding night. That naturally enough led to another amorous interlude, culminating just as the sky began to lighten to the east. Afterwards, she had lain nestled in my arms, sleeping peacefully with a blissful smile on her face as she dreamed. I was unable to return to sleep, however, so after a little while, I carefully slipped away.
                          
Although it was still early in the morning, it was already warming up. I gathered up my fishing tackle and sauntered down to the lake, intending to fish for our breakfast. We’d brought an adequate supply of food and drink, but I was always willing to enjoy grilled fresh fish—especially if that fish happened to be rainbow trout.
                          
The glassy surface of the lake was broken at frequent intervals near the shore where I stood watching the fish swarming near the surface, attempting to catch the caddisflies that had gathered thickly just above the water. I cast my line out into the midst of the nearest swarm, and within moments had a bite. Grinning in delight,  I pulled out a huge trout and dropped it into my pail before again casting my line.
                          
I was well pleased with this location, and glad Avani had persuaded me to come here. Not only was it breathtakingly beautiful, but it was so pristine, so untouched. It didn’t look as though another human being had been there in decades, if indeed ever. The fishing alone was evidence of that. The lake was teeming with large fish—bigger than any I’d seen in the areas surrounding Selphia, anyway. When we’d fished for our dinner last night after setting up our camp, we had caught enough fish, not only for our own meal but also to feed our beasts, within half an hour. Of the monsters we’d brought with us, both wolves were carnivores, naturally, while Thor, Avani’s thunderbolt monster—the same variety of horse monster that Dylas had been bound to as Guardian—and Charmie, her tame mammoo, were omnivores. As such, they were just as happy to eat the proffered raw fish as the wolves, though they were equally happy to graze on the tall, thick grass surrounding the lake.
                          
After perhaps twenty minutes, I’d caught enough fish for breakfast. Besides my enormous rainbow trout, I had also caught a few lake trout and a couple of perch. I returned up the short path to our camp, and finding Avani still asleep, I quietly stirred the coals into flames, building the fire up to make the glowing embers needed to grill the fish properly. Next, I filled the coffee pot with fresh water and placed it on top of the arranged firewood to come to a boil. While I waited on the coals and for the coffee to brew, I cleaned the fish, filleting and boning a pair of lake trout for Baldur and Fenrir. Since Charmie and Thor didn’t seem to care either way, I decided I’d just let them graze for their breakfasts.